James Ray to Death Lodge Participants: "You Have Faced Your Own Death"

allegedly being responsible for the deaths of three people in a make-shift death tent, snakeoil salesman James Arthur Ray reportedly told participants of his "Spiritual Warrior" self-help retreat near Sedona in 2009 that, when they emerged from the sweat lodge, they will have "faced [their] own death."

One of the victims, 49-year-old Liz Neuman, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, died of multiple-organ failure after the ceremony. The other two victims, 38-year-old Kirby Brown of Westtown, New York, and 40-year-old James Shore of Wisconsin, each fell victim to heat stroke after being in the sweat tent.

Ray maintains that the deaths were a tragic accident, but prosecutors feel that stuffing dozens of people into a hot, poorly ventilated sweat tent -- and then discouraging them from leaving -- is more than just an accident.

Ray's trial is under way. If convicted, Ray faces a sentence of up to 37 years in prison.